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Great question!
What is it?
The purchase and sale agreement is the contract that is used to purchase real property. What is real property? Essentially, it is dirt. Dirt in a specific area that comes with a deed to that location. It can be a house or it can be the land a house is built on. It could be an industrial park or a farm. The point is, it’s usable land.
In most cases, the purchase and sale agreement is used to buy homes or plots. It is a standardized contract that makes things simple for the industry. It benefits both the real estate agents and their clients. Here’s how.
Agents: By having standard forms, it allows for everyone in the industry to be on the same page. We know where to look for things like purchase price, earnest money, inspections, etc. This is good because it keeps all of us honest. It is near impossible to sneak dirty things into a contract when we all use the same government approved forms.
The Home Buyers and Home Sellers: All the above.
What goes into the purchase and sale agreement?
This will not be an exhaustive list – You need to go over this with your agent. However, I’ll give you the gist:
- Purchase price – How much
- Offer expiration date – How long seller has to respond
- Earnest money – Offering to show buyer is acting in good faith
- Inspection contingency – Covers buyer’s butt
- Closing agent – this is who will be doing your title and escrow (the same entity in Washington State)
- Financing contingency – Covers everyone’s butt
- Closing date – When seller gets paid and buyer takes keys
Those are simplified explanations. You can click on the links for more information.
In conclusion
The Purchase and Sale Agreement is the foundation of most real estate transactions.
Let me know if you have any questions and are looking to hire an agent!
Fill out this form or call/text 360-510-8765
